The FIFA World Cup 2026 is around the corner, and fans cannot wait for the biggest sporting spectacle to begin. 48 teams will fight it out for the biggest prize in sport, and one also needs to see which youngster takes the big leap and shows the world how he has it in him to be the true-blue superstar.
As far as superstars are concerned, France’s Kylian Mbappe has become a force to reckon with and how can one forget his hat-trick in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final in Qatar. However, the 27-year-old had shown signs of brilliance four years earlier in 2018, with a breakout tournament that helped France win the title.
Before the 2018 edition of the tournament, the world already knew a bit about Mbappe. He had dazzled through his performances for AS Monaco. Moreover, he had won a Ligue 1 title, earning a blockbuster move to Paris Saint-Germain. However, it was the FIFA World Cup, where he took the next leap, and started being talked about in the same breath as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Aged just 19, he arrived at the tournament as one of France’s brightest prospects. And eventually, he left the competition as the face of football’s future. His biggest moment came in the Round of 16 tie against Messi’s Argentina. France and Argentina were locked in a thrilling contest, and it was then that Mbappe produced one of the most jaw-dropping performances the World Cup has witnessed from a teenager.
Early on, Mbappe collected the ball inside his own half and charged forward. He accelerated with astonishing speed, surging past Argentinian defenders. Such was his movement that the defenders had no option but to bring him down inside the penalty area. This resulted in France winning a penalty, which led the side to open the scoring.
He set up the goal at first, and then he himself got on the scoring sheet. Mbappe struck twice in the second half, first finishing clinically after a swift French counterattack and then firing home again minutes later. Argentina’s experienced defenders simply could not contain him.
The match ended 4-3 in France’s favour, but the scoreline barely captured the impact of Mbappe’s display. He had become the first teenager since Pelé to score twice in a World Cup knockout match. More importantly, he had announced himself to the world.
The game against Argentina wasn’t the end of Mbappe’s Midas touch. As France advanced in the competition, his confidence continued to grow. Didier Deschamps’ side mixed defensive solidity with devastating pace in transition, and Mbappé was the perfect foil to his tactics. Opponents knew what was coming and still struggled to stop it.
Then came the final against Croatia. Traditionally, the World Cup finals are not supposed to be won by teenagers as the pressure is immense and the stakes overwhelming. But Mbappe looked completely unfazed.
With France leading in Moscow, he received the ball outside the penalty area and drove a precise low shot beyond the Croatian goalkeeper. The goal made him only the second teenager ever to score in a men’s World Cup final, joining Pele in one of football’s most exclusive clubs.
France won 4-2 and lifted the trophy. Mbappe stood out not just because of his age but because of how naturally he seemed to belong on that stage. In the competition, he registered four goals, a World Cup winner’s medal, and a series of astonishing runs on the field.
The tournament gave football its next superstar. Mbappe possessed everything modern football craves: speed, technical excellence, fearlessness and an ability to deliver under immense pressure.
In 1958, Pelé introduced himself to the world in Sweden. Sixty years later, in Russia, Mbappe delivered his own arrival story. The teenager who tore through Argentina and scored in a World Cup final had announced himself. The football world was watching, and a new superstar had arrived.